WAR THEME PLIED FOR WAR CHEST

Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) has been criticized by some of his Republican supporters for mailing a fund-raising letter that called attention to his support for the Persian Gulf War and invited recipients to join the Mack Senate Club.

"I approve strongly of the way George Bush has handled the crisis in the gulf," the letter said. "Serving as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I've offered him all of my support."

The missive, mailed to 18,000 supporters, included a 1991 membership card in the Mack Senate Club, described as "the perfect vehicle to help rally behind our president." The club now includes those who have donated about $2,000 to Mack's campaign in his years in office.

The St. Petersburg Times reported last week that the letter raised the ire of several staunch Florida Republicans who supported Mack's 1988 campaign. They are upset because they feel Mack is exploiting the war for his political gain.

Mack's appeal was mailed the same week the Republican National Committee initiated a campaign to get 500,000 active Republicans to write letters to local newspapers supporting the war effort.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) also solicited $1,000 donations in a war-theme mailing sent the week the war began.